GOLLNER HONDA SINGLE SHOCK

It was a fact that the late Bob Gollner needed no introduction when it came to building trials motorcycles. In the ’60s and ’70s, he had seen it all, with his one-off specials and his converted and improved limitedproduction models. It was always a case of making a good product even better.

Bob Gollner had witnessed the prototype TLR Honda arrive with Japanese rider, Kiyo Hattori, in 1983. He followed its progress through to the production model, which arrived as a 200cc later in the year. The 250cc arrived in 1984 just around the time that the ground-breaking mono-shock Yamaha was starting to take hold in the trials world.

When the 250cc four-stroke mono-shock RTL Honda arrived in 1985, Steve Saunders set the trials world on fire with this superb £3,500 machine; it was very expensive. Bob knew it was time to give the four-stroke riders a ‘single shock’ with a more competitively priced machine.

Honda produced its TLR series comprising of 200 and 250cc air-cooled twin-shock single-cylinder four-stroke models. The 200cc machine would be produced in quite large quantities as a trial/trail machine over several years; it proved very popular for its build quality and versatile, reliable engine.

The 250cc TLR was produced in smaller quantities, making them more desirable than its smaller sibling, and were purchased by so many riders who remembered the good times of trials riding on the machines from the once mighty and proud manufacturing of motorcycles in Great Britain.

HRC

In 1985, the Honda Racing Corporation, which is the competition division of the mighty Honda Motor Company in Japan, would take charge of producing the mono-shock RTL or ‘Racing’ TL version. It was developed by Eddy Lejeune and a team of Japanese engineers, and latterly Steve Saunders.

Saunders would ride the twin-shock TLR 250 in early 1985 until his new RTL250 arrived from Belgium after assembly at the HRC Europe headquarters. Saunders’ machine was initially a 250cc powered model until he moved to the more exotic 270cc motors, coded as ‘RTL270SW’, with an offset exhaust port which

allowed for a single downtube frame as opposed to the centralised exhaust of the production RTL250 which had a twin-spar downtube frame.

Rothmans, the tobacco company, sponsored their campaign with the machines appearing in Rothmans livery for the 1986 season. Enthusiastic crowds loved to see the once-mighty, four-stroke machines winning again; all of a sudden four-stroke became the new alternative in the trials world.

Bob Gollner loved four-strokes and tested both the 250cc Honda TLR and RTL to develop his knowledge. He agreed they were good but not really to his style of riding. In truth, he preferred the lesser-powered TLR 200cc with its softer power characteristics. The Gollner Honda story was about to come to life as Bob started to modify the TLR 200cc.

BACK TO BASICS

He liked the superior Japanese build quality and components which very much mirrored the original Kawasaki KT trials machines that he had previously modified into the successful Gollner Kawasaki.

During the winter months of 1983, he started to change and improve the TLR 200cc. Always with a keen eye for talent, Bob had spotted a good young rider, Neal Hubbard who was riding one of the Seeley four-stroke Honda machines.

The machine had seen better days and was quite tired, so Bob let him try his own modified Honda. Neal was suitably impressed, and so Bob decided to sponsor him through his trials dealership with free use of the machine and a supply of spare parts.

Soon the results for Hubbard on the Gollner-prepared TLR 200cc were the talking point at the Southern Centre events he competed. It was at this point that Bob decided to delve even deeper into making the TLR 200cc a much better machine by applying his knowledge and engineering skills. 1984 was going to be a hectic year indeed.

GOLLNER HONDA 200CC

He made the labour-expensive decision to strip and rebuild every one of the engines so he could incorporate a new set of rider-friendly gear ratios, similar to the RTL model. He also fitted a new shorter gear-change lever shaft, reducing the overall width of the engine in the process. The production clutch was not very smooth in the power take-up. It was made better with a modified clutch assembly which allowed for smoother power delivery; a lighter lever control action was achieved.

He modified the carburetion to suit the new power characteristics, and a WES aluminium exhaust system, developed by Dick Walker, was fitted. The various unwanted frame brackets were removed, and the frame resprayed, to be finished off with an aluminium fuel tank covered by a lightweight fibreglass cover. Gold wheel rims and Renthal handlebars complemented the fine aesthetics of the Gollner Honda 200cc. With Neal Hubbard holding the handlebars, the machine carried on with its winning ways.

With machines built to order, customers could also speak to Bob to have their machines individually customised as they liked and to suit their pocket.

This is where the story changes direction. Yorkshireman, Chris Griffin, needed a machine for the 1986 SSDT. He decided a Honda TLR250 would fit the bill nicely. The problem was he wanted a single-shock machine to follow the trend that had changed the development of the trials machine forever. The Honda TLR250 was a good economic starting point as the Honda

RTL250S was a costly machine to buy and only imported in small numbers. It enabled Honda franchise dealers to control the allocation to higher calibre riders who had a good chance at posting some top podium results.

PROTOTYPE 250CC

Chris Griffin takes up the story: “I had sent away an entry for the 1986 Scottish Six Days Trial, which was accepted. I did not have a suitable machine or much spare cash at the time. I scoured the Trials, and Motocross News classified adverts and spotted a TLR250 Honda for sale which was road-registered. I went to see it and bought it in late February. I rode my first trial on it in March. I felt it had too much power at the bottom end and that the rear suspension kicked off everything. I decided it was time to get the tools out to modify it.

“Mono-shock suspension was definitely the way to go, and I purchased a new Beta TR33 model rear damper and mounted it horizontally; like the RTL Honda, but with no linkage. I had to remove the middle exhaust silencer and air filter box to fit it in, and so I was forced to mount the front pipe straight to the rear silencer and fabricate a new smaller air filter box. By a miracle, it all worked perfectly. By having to alter the exhaust and airbox, it lost its aggressive bottom-end power and produced super-smooth suspension at the rear.

“The combination of the excellent air-assisted Honda front forks made for a superb suspension package; it worked so well. After a good ‘shakedown’ before the event, I rode it in the 1986 SSDT, finishing in 19th place. I rode in the company of Steve Moore that week, who was sponsored by Bob Gollner on the much more expensive Honda RTL250S.

“A few weeks after the SSDT, Bob Gollner called me and said Steve Moore had told him about my TLR and he asked if he could put it into production. We spoke on the phone for a while, and I agreed, and so took my Honda down to his shop, Bob Gollner Ltd at Denmead, Hampshire, leaving it with him for a couple of months. He let me have one of his special 200 twin-shocks to use until I got my 250 back. I rode the modified Honda TLR for about a year, winning quite a few trials.

“My last ride on the Gollner-Griffin Honda was the 1987 SSDT. I finished 29th, but by then the big factories had developed their versions on mono-shock machines with all the factory riders on them.”

GOLLNER-GRIFFIN TLR250 MONO-SHOCK

With Chris Griffin’s machine in the capable hands of Gollner, he enlisted the help of Robin Packham of Falcon Shocks to produce an adjustable single aluminium-bodied damper and steel spring. It made the rear suspension even better than before, with more controlled action. He also tidied up Griffin’s single-shock design and adopted the horizontally mounted damper position that Chris had experimented

with and developed in competition.

The services of Dick Walker, of Walker Exhaust Systems (WES), were once again needed. He fabricated the alloy exhaust system which ran down the offside of the machine whereas Honda’s production steel system had run down the nearside. Walker incorporated the all-important centre expansion box. He had built up a reputation in the trials performance exhaust game with a range of exhaust systems for many other machines.

The mono-shock machines were topped off with a smart one-piece tank/seat unit, and a special decal proclaiming ‘Gollner-Griffin’ was attached to the front fork legs.

Bob Gollner produced two mono-shock versions using both the TLR200 and 250 Honda platforms for the modified machines. The 200cc version retailed for £1,987 and the 250 at £2,200, both inclusive of VAT. He also marketed the modified 200 twin-shock HondaGollner TLR at £1,585 inclusive of VAT, which was aimed at the clubman market.

RARE

While the single-shock machines were in the hands of Gollner for development, both Hubbard and Griffin kept the flag flying on the 200cc twin-shock machines, with some notable success. On completion, the new 250cc single-shock machines proved very competitive as Neil Hubbard finished second in the end-of-season Knut Trial and Chris Griffin finished 14th in the Northern Experts Trial. Bob Gollner proudly displayed the new machine at the 1986 Dirt Bike Show in Bristol, where they were well received, and he was also able to take some orders. While generating this article, I did try to find out how many of the converted Gollner Honda trials machines were built but to no avail.

As the world of motorcycle trials changed and production by all the manufacturers moved to the mono-shock or single rear shock absorber revolution, Bob Gollner ceased the conversions as they became less viable in a very pricecompetitive trials marketplace. Both the twinshock and single-shock Gollner Honda were produced in small numbers, making them a rare machine in the world of motorcycle trials.

BOB GOLLNER

Bob passed away on the 23rd May 2019 after a long illness. He was the man behind the 1966 Cheetah, which used 37A Villiers and Triumph Cub motors until supplies ceased in 1968. He then created the 1968 Gollner BSA Bantam, the 1971 Gollner Yamaha and subsequently Gollner Kawasaki trials machines based on the KT250 model. At one point was the importer for the Frenchbuilt JCM trials machines.

A close friend of Comerford’s Reg May, he was a well-known trials and scrambles competitor and motorcycle dealer who had his shop, Bob Gollner Ltd, at Denmead, Portsmouth, in Hampshire. He was a member of the Waterlooville Motorcycle Club.

Honda UK brochure. A high specification can be found on the Contracted to Honda UK for Enduro racing, Derrick Edmondson rode this TLR 200 to 59th position in the 1984 Scottish Six Days Trial.

Honda wanted to make a mark in the trials world with a reliable entry-level machine.

This is the Japanese brochure for the Honda TLR 200 model.

While waiting for the arrival of his new mono-shock Honda Steve Saunders rode this standard twin-shock TLR 250cc to victory in his local centre.

Many riders wanted a competitive four-stroke trials machine and the addition of the 250cc TLR made those dreams come true. This rider is Buxton-based haulage contractor John Cantrell.

model. it was a welcome addition to the 200cc When the Honda TLR 250cc arrived in 1984

This shot of Chris Griffin is from the 1986 SSDT, where the Griffin-Gollner Honda TLR 250cc project came to life.

Looking very different with the twin rear shock absorbers removed is the early Gollner Honda.

In early 1984 Bob had spotted a good young rider by the name of Neal Hubbard who was riding one of the Seeley four-stroke Honda machines. He would soon be taking many victories on a TLR 200cc prepared by Bob Gollner over the next few years.

A very confident Steve Saunders set the world on fire with his RTL 250, finishing third overall in the 1985 FIM World Trials Championship.

Going for the long ‘dab’ on his way to 27th position in the 1985 SSDT is Mick Andrews on the TLR 250cc.

It’s 1971 and Bob Gollner can be seen on the ‘Gollner Yamaha’. Did he plant the seed to Yamaha in Japan, who in the next few years would produce the best-selling Yamaha TY 175cc?

In the wet winter mud Chris Sutton stands tall on the Gollner Honda at the Knut Trial in December 1987.

First time out at the West Trophy Trial run by the Southampton Vikings MCC.

This is a trade advert for the Gollner Honda.

Taken from the brochure, this rare colour picture shows the sleek new lines of the Gollner ‘Single-Shock’ Honda.

Chris Sutton with his new Gollner Honda in February 1987.